Two days of community action have seen divers and volunteers remove two skips’ worth of rubbish from the River Great Ouse, including shopping trolleys, traffic cones, bikes, scooters and even an old sheep’s skull.
This year’s annual River Rinse has once again highlighted the incredible work that can be achieved when a community comes together to protect its river and surrounding green spaces.
Taking place on Sunday 20 September and Sunday 4 October, the River Rinse tackled a stretch of the River Great Ouse from Bourton Park through to Cornwall’s Meadow car park.
Divers from Stowe Sub Aqua Club took to the water to retrieve a remarkable collection of discarded items from the riverbed. In total, around two skips’ worth of rubbish was pulled from the river, ranging from everyday litter to some rather more unusual finds.
Among the haul were shopping trolleys, traffic cones, highway signs, bicycles, scooters – and even an old sheep’s skull.
While the divers worked beneath the surface, volunteers were busy on dry land, litter-picking in the surrounding parks and removing rubbish that could otherwise have found its way into the river.
The River Rinse is now a well-established part of the town’s environmental calendar, with the project having been running for more than 20 years to help keep the Great Ouse cleaner, safer and more attractive for everyone.
Cllr. Robin Stuchbury, Chair of the Town Centre & Events Committee said:
“The Town Centre & Events Committee worked closely with officers and Stowe Sub Aqua Club on this long-standing environmental event. We are pleased to be doing it again this year where we discover what people have in invertedly added to our river by way of debris and rubbish.
It’s only by this continuing maintenance a long period of time that we can both improve and maintain Our River Great Ouse. Ensuring it doesn’t deteriorate environmentally, because without this constant maintenance, unfortunately, this would be the case as no other local agency undertakes a community project, of this nature.”
The Town Council would like to thank Stowe Sub Aqua Club and all the volunteers who took part in this year’s River Rinse for their hard work, enthusiasm and continued commitment to the project.
And there was a well-deserved reward waiting for the volunteers at the end of each event. Buckingham WI provided much-appreciated sausage rolls and cakes, helping to round off the hard work with some welcome refreshments.
After more than two decades, the River Rinse remains a powerful reminder that looking after the River Great Ouse is a shared responsibility, and that sometimes you never quite know what you might find beneath the surface.
Notes:
- For enquiries, please contact Claire Molyneux at Buckingham Town Council on 01280 816426, communications@buckingham-tc.gov.uk